The present disclosure relates to continuous board manufacturing processes and, more particularly, to an apparatus, system and method for controlling the dispensing of a cementitious slurry in connection with the manufacture of a cementitious article.
In many types of cementitious articles, set gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) is often a major constituent. For example, set gypsum is a major component of end products created by use of traditional plasters (e.g., plaster-surfaced internal building walls), and also in faced gypsum board employed in typical drywall construction of interior walls and ceilings of buildings. In addition, set gypsum is the major component of gypsum/cellulose fiber composite boards and products, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,677, for example. Also, many specialty materials, such as materials useful for modeling and mold-making, produce products that contain major amounts of set gypsum. Typically, such gypsum-containing cementitious products are made by preparing a mixture of calcined gypsum (calcium sulfate alpha or beta hemihydrate and/or calcium sulfate anhydrite), water, and other components, as appropriate to form cementitious slurry. In the manufacture of cementitious articles, the cementitious slurry and desired additives are often blended in a continuous mixer, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,146, for example.
In a typical cementitious article manufacturing process such as wallboard, gypsum board is produced by uniformly dispersing calcined gypsum (commonly referred to as “stucco”) in water to form aqueous calcined gypsum slurry. The aqueous calcined gypsum slurry is typically produced in a continuous manner by inserting stucco and water and other additives into a mixer which contains means for agitating the contents to form a uniform gypsum slurry. The slurry is continuously directed toward and through a discharge outlet of the mixer and into a discharge conduit connected to the discharge outlet of the mixer. Aqueous foam can be combined with the aqueous calcined gypsum slurry in the mixer and/or in the discharge conduit. A stream of foamed slurry passes through the discharge conduit from which it is continuously deposited onto a moving web of cover sheet material supported by a forming table.
The foamed slurry is allowed to spread over the advancing web. A second web of cover sheet material is applied to cover the foamed slurry and form a sandwich structure of a continuous wallboard preform, which is subjected to forming, such as at a conventional forming station, to obtain a desired thickness.
The calcined gypsum reacts with the water in the wallboard preform and sets as a conveyor moves the wallboard preform down a manufacturing line. The wallboard preform is cut into segments at a point along the line where the preform has set sufficiently. The segments are flipped over, dried (e.g., in a kiln) to drive off excess water, and processed to provide the final wallboard product of desired dimensions. The aqueous foam produces air voids in the set gypsum, thereby reducing the density of the finished product relative to a product made using a similar slurry but without foam. Prior devices and methods for addressing some of the operational problems associated with the production of gypsum wallboard are disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,683,635; 5,643,510; 6,494,609; 6,874,930; 7,007,914; and 7,296,919, which are incorporated by reference.
Prior apparatuses for addressing some of the operational problems associated with dispensing a cementitious slurry include a pinch-type valve which can be mechanically operated or operated by compressed air or hydraulics to pinch down on the elastomeric conduit. The pinch valve typically deforms the conduit into a flattened or rectangular orifice which can be susceptible to plugging by cementitious slurry that builds up in the corners of the orifice, where the flow velocity is lower, and sets. Further, the inlet and outlet orifices of the pinch valve are abrupt because pressure is exerted on the conduit in a substantially singular plane and does not allow for a gradual transition. Such abrupt entrances and exits can lead to further plugging of slurry producing equipment, which causes costly downtime for repairs.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,007,914 is entitled, “Slurry Mixer Constrictor Valve,” and is directed to an apparatus and method for controlling the flow of a slurry. The constrictor valve includes first and second guide plates that are spaced a distance apart along the length of a conduit. Each of a plurality of rigid elongate members has first and second ends engaged on, and extending between, the first and second guide plates, respectively. Upon rotation of at least one of the first and second guide plates, the elongate members are configured to impart pressure on, and constrict the conduit.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventors to aid the reader and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some aspects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.